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Chapter XI. Discoursing of Confucianists¹

a. The Secretary: You venerate Confucius, oh Literati, as your intellectual progenitor, and intone lauds in praise of his virtue as being unsurpassed from high antiquity down to the present time. ² Yet in spite of the fact that Confucius cultivated virtue betwixt Lu and Wei ³ and spread enlightenment on the banks of the Chu and Ssŭ, ⁴ his disciples mended not their ways and the world around him turned not to good government, while the dismemberment of the state of Lu went on apace. In Ch'i, King Hsüan ⁵ likewise encouraged the Confucianists and honored the learned. The followers of Mêng K'o ⁶ and Shun-yü K'un ⁷ accepted salaries worthy of high lords and discoursed on affairs of state without holding regular appointments.

b. It seems that at the gate of Chi of the Ch'i capital there were assembled over a thousand of these doctors. ⁸ Master Kung-sun Hung ⁹ would not have been unique at the time. Yet, when the weak state of Yen attacked Ch'i and in one campaign drove right down to Lin-tsê, King Min fled before the Yen forces to perish miserably at Chiu and none of these gentlemen could save the situation. ¹⁰ When King Chien was made prisoner by Ch'in, ¹¹ the learned doctors went into captivity with him, none of them succeeding in preserving the state. If we judge by these examples, it seems that the Confucianist way of bringing peace to a country and honor to its ruler has as yet never proved to be very effective.

c. The Literati: Without the help of a whip even Tsao-fu ¹² would not be able to manage his four-in-hand; without some measure of power¹³ even Shun and Yü would not be able to rule effectively the Myriad People. The phoenix comes not, exclaimed Confucius, the river gives forth no chart—it is all over with me.¹⁴ There are thus situations when even with racing chariots and excellent horses one can not show his speed, and when sagely virtue, benevolence and a sense of duty have no chance to be displayed.

d. During the reign of King Hsüan ¹⁵ of Ch'i the worthy were manifestly honored ¹⁶ and scholars promoted indeed; that nation was rich and powerful and its prestige prevailed among the enemy states. Then the majestic vigor accumulated through two generations of prosperity was energetically displayed by King Min. In the south he took Ch'u ¹⁷ and Huai, ¹⁸ and in the north annexed the lands of the great state of Sung, ¹⁹ taking into his fold twelve petty kingdoms; while in the west he drove back the three states of Chin, ²⁰ and forced powerful Ch'in ²¹ to retreat. The embassies of the five states ²² paid him homage, and the princes of Tsou and Lu and all feudal lords from the banks of the Ssŭ river acknowledged themselves his vassals.²³ But he did not cease in displaying boastfully his prowess until his people could bear no more. All the Confucianists ²⁴ in his service, finding their criticism of no avail, scattered abroad; Shen Tao and Chieh Tzŭ disappeared, T'ien P'ien ²⁵ went to Hsieh, ²⁶ and Sun Ch'ing ²⁷ proceeded to Ch'u. ²⁸ Not a single good minister remained in the country, and the feudal princes now seized their chance to make common cause and fall upon Ch'i. King Chien gave ear to rumors, believed in treacherous intrigue; and following the suggestion of Hou Shêng, ²⁹ he neglected to entertain friendly relations with the feudal princes. It is but natural that with such a policy he should ruin his country and fall prey to Ch'in. ³⁰

e. The Secretary: I Yin ³¹ entered the service of T'ang ³² through his ability as a cook, and Po-li ³³ ingratiated himself with Duke Mu ³⁴ while feeding cattle. They ingratiated themselves with their princes first, and then only would introduce them to the subject of aspiring to the Protectorate or the Kingship. It is only thus ³⁵ that they secured for them these positions, when every word of theirs was followed, and every principle enunciated put into practice. Following this method, the Lord of Shang, having found that Duke Hsiao would have none of the "Ways of Kings" ³⁶ which he had expounded to him, came forward with a plan of building a strong state and was thus able finally to accomplish great things; similarly Tsou Tzŭ, after having tried in vain to interest contemporary rulers in Confucian lore, finally won renown by his treatises on Mutation, Change, and the Beginning and End. ³⁷ One may say, therefore, that just as a horse is valued for its capacity to run a thousand miles irrespective of the fact that it comes from Hu or Tai, ³⁸ so a scholar is honored for his practical ability and not because of his proficiency in letters or dialectics alone. Your Mêng K'o stuck to old practices and was ignorant of worldly affairs, and consequently came to trouble in Liang and Sung; ³⁹ Confucius "could square but could not round", and so came to hunger at Li-ch'iu. ⁴⁰

f. Now, the Confucianists of these latter days, though striving after virtue, find themselves often in dire material circumstances; they speak only to criticize and find therefore no chance to put into effect their ideas. For them, during the long period of over a thousand years since the foundation of the House of Chou, there has been only Wên, Wu, Ch'êng and K'ang, ⁴¹ to whom they would refer whenever they speak. They take up the unattainable and praise it, just like lame men who can only speak about great distances but cannot walk them. The sages may follow different paths, but have one and the same goal; some advance, some stop, but all have the same aim.

g. Though Lord Shang revolutionized laws and changed moral teachings, his object was to strengthen the country and benefit the people; though Tsou Tzŭ enunciated the doctrine of Mutation and Change, he also concluded with the principle of benevolence and righteousness; Chai Chung ⁴² humiliated himself in order to seize later the opportunity presented by circumstances. One must therefore bend one's self a little in order to stretch one's self in a greater measure: true gentlemen have repeatedly done it. But you, with your one-ideaed obstinacy, ⁴³ stick only to one principle after the fashion of Wei Shêng. ⁴⁴ It does not seem worth while for you to mention that Duke Wên of Chin ⁴⁵ deceived the feudal nobles in order to honor the house of Chou, nor to praise Kuan Chung for his courage in facing disgrace in order to survive a debacle.

h. The Literati: When I Yin courted the favor of T'ang, he knew him to be a sagely ruler; when Po-li went to Ch'in, he knew the king to be enlightened. In the ability of these two princes they could already recognize future King and Protector: their patents were already written in their lofty countenances. Not blindly nor with their vision obscured did the two worthies decide upon their course of action. If terms be incorrect, said Confucius, then statements do not accord with facts; and when statements and facts do not accord, then business is not properly executed.⁴⁶ How could it be said that they ingratiated themselves with purposeful intent in order to accomplish the task of elevating their masters to the positions of Protector and King? A gentleman never acts save by holding fast to virtue and clinging to justice. Therefore, in moments of haste he cleaves to these [principles]; in seasons of peril he cleaves to them.⁴⁷ Again Mencius said: To stay now at court and yet not to improve its morality—even if I should secure the power of a lord of a thousand chariots, I would not remain for a single day.⁴⁸ He would rather live in poverty and hunger in a mean alley than to change his mode of thought to conform with the ways of the world.

i. When Ho-lu⁴⁹murdered King Liao,⁵⁰Tzŭ Cha⁵¹left the country and betook himself to Yen-ling⁵²and never to the end of his days crossed the border of the state of Wu.⁵³ When the Duke of Lu ⁵⁴ killed Tzŭ-ch'ih, ⁵⁵ Shu-mien retired ⁵⁶ and became a hermit refusing to enjoy a salary. To impair one's right conduct to obtain dignities, and to twist one's principles to gain indulgence, are things a gentleman would not do even if his life were at stake. We know of cases when a gentleman would resign office even when righteous doctrines were put into effect; but we have yet to hear of one who bent his principles in order to gain a prince's indulgence.

j. The Secretary: According to ⁵⁷ the Lun Yü, With the man who is personally engaged in a wrongful enterprise the true gentleman declines to associate.⁵⁸ Such is the saying but in practice it is difficult to follow. Thus when the Chi clan, ⁵⁹ lawless and unprincipled, drove their prince from the throne and usurped all power, Jan Ch'iu ⁶⁰ and Chung Yu ⁶¹ still remained to serve them. The rules of Propriety prescribe, Men and women do not give nor receive ceremonial cups from one another.⁶² Yet when Confucius passed through Wei he paid a visit to the mistress of the Duke of Wei ⁶³ prompted by the favorite Mi Tzŭ-hsia, ⁶⁴ incurring thus the disapproval of Tzŭ-lu. Since Tzŭ-hsia was a court favorite, it was improper for Confucius to get his introduction through him; since men and women are not allowed to mix socially, it was a breach of etiquette for Confucius to visit Nan Tzŭ. The principles of propriety and right conduct originated with ⁶⁵ Master K'ung himself, yet he personally dealt a blow to the Law while seeking a prince's indulgence. Where, may we ask, is recorded the fact that he retired from office after these events?

k. The Literati: The enlightened ruler is concerned when the Empire is not at peace and the states are not at rest; worthies and sages grieve when there is no Emperor above and no margraves below and chaos reigns in the Empire. Thus Yao was concerned over the Deluge, I Yin worried over the people, Kuan Chung went into captivity, and Confucius roamed about the world. They all worried over the people's misfortunes and aspired to set at rest their troubles. Therefore, they toiled either carrying pots and dishes, ⁶⁶ suffering in prisons, or crawling on their bellies, all to bring succor to the people. One must run when pursuing fugitives; one can not avoid a drenching while trying to save a drowning man. Now that the people are trapped in a drain-ditch, we can not but dive to their rescue even at the expense of getting drenched!

The Secretary remained silent and did not reply.

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Published by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia